Furniture construction



Jan. 20, 1959 Filed July 26, 1951 A. FREEDLANDER 2,869,148 FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

A.-L. FREEDLAN DER.

'Jan. 20, 1959 A. FREEDLANDER FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lOc.

35 j i j INVENTOR.

A. L. FREEDLANDER ATTY.

FURNITURE CQNSTRUCTION Abraham Lincoln Freedlander, Dayton, Ohio, assigns: to The Dayton Rubber Company, a corporation of Ohio Application July 26, 1951, Serial No. 238,618

1 Claim. (Cl. -210) The present invention relates to improvements in furnitur'e construction, particularly as applied to beds, sofas, chairs, and other articles of furniture used for supporting'sitting or reclining persons.

In the type of furniture products referred to, the seated or recumbent body is supported upon a horizontal supporting member or' platform which in turn is supported by legs or other vertical members at the desired height. Such horizontal supporting members are usually rigidly attached to the vertical members by being formed integrally; therewith or being grooved, bolted, screwed, or detachably clamped thereto.

In the case of beds, for example, the horizontal platform for supporting the body is usually in the form of the combination of a mattress and spring which are generally supported upon 'be'drails by slats or other supporting members, the rails in turn being attached to posts of the bedstead or to head and tailboards of the bed or the like.

In these types of co'nstructionthe points where the horizontal members attach to the vertical members are subjected to strain and after continued use the joints squeek and loosen and become noisy in use. At the same time structural weaknesses develop which may ultimately result in breakage and necessitate repair or replacement. Furthermore, the rigid type of supports required are not resilient and become uncomfortable in use or require the provision of added cushioning material.

In accordance with the present invention a supporting structure is provided for the horizontal body supporting members of articles of furniture of the type described herein which will obviate the disadvantages of the prior art. The novel supporting structure referred to is strong, noiseless, flexible and resilient and will function over long periods of time without loosening, or developing the internal stresses and strains which occur in conventional constructions.

Applicant has discovered that by supporting the horizontal platform member of an article of furniture, such as a bed, chair, sofa, or the like, upon rubber members which are mounted in a manner which will completely separate the horizontal platform from the vertical support and where such rubber members are mounted in vertical and/or torsional shear, a resilient and durable supporting structure will result which will provide a cushioning effect while at the same time eliminating any tendency to develop strain and noises in use. When rubber is-stressed in shear greater resilience under a given load is permitted than when stressed in compression alone. When utilized in the manner described herein rubber in shear provides a high degree of resilience while at the same time absorbing or dampening vibrations and stresses developed in use. This added resilience contributes to a high degree to greater comfort and durability, eliminating weaknesses and noise which develop in joints. The rubber in shear construction is ordinarily fabricated by forming a sandwich of rubber adhered or bonded between metal members. These sandwiches may be be- Patented Jan. Zil, 1959 tween flat metal members of rectangular or other desired shape or may be made by placing the rubber between concentric cylinders or other shaped members. The rubber is bonded to the metal by first plating the metal surface with brass followed by vulcanization of the rubber in contact with the plated surface under heat and pressure. in lieu of brass plating, suitable rubber-toinetal adhesives, such as chlorinated rubber in a solvent, or the like, may be used. Natural rubber as well as the synthetic rubber-like material may be used. Among the synthetic rubbers, GR-S (butadiene-styrene copolymer) GRA (butadiene-acrylic nitrile copolyrner) are th most commonly used. i

The present invention will be described with particular reference to a bed although the principles hereof are also applicable to other articles of furniture. I

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings for a more detailed description of the invention.

in the drawings:

Figure l is a view in elevation illustrating theheadboard and tailboard of a bed with side bedrails mounted thereon and having the supporting members of the present invention attached to said rails.

Figure 2 is a view taken in cross section along lines.

22 of Figure 1 illustrating one type of supporting member.

Figure 3 illustrates in elevation another'type of supporting member attached to a bedrail.

Figure 4 illustrates in elevation a spring and mattress supported on another alternative form of support.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view along lines 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view partially in elevation and partially in cross section illustrating still another form of support attached to a bedrail. V 1

in Figures 1 and 2 side rails 2 .2; and 13 are attached to headboard ill and tailboard lllof a bed in any conventional manner. Spring supporting members 14 are attached to the bedrails at opposite sides of the bed in position to support a spring and mattress. These supporting members are each formed of a rubber member 18 sandwiched and adhered between steel plate members l5 and 17. Member 15 is afiixed'to the side of the bedrail by screws or bolts as shown in Figure 1 and plate member 14 has welded thereto projecting member is? upon which the spring is supported. Upon the application of vertical stress to member to rubber member 18 is placed in shear and will provide resilient support to the spring and mattress. In view of the complete insulation of the load from the bedrail and bed by the rubber member, stresses and strains applied to the bed in use will be absorbed by the rubber members 18 thus not only increasing the resiliency of the mattressspring combination in use, but also eliminating the major source of noise and strain. The metal sandwich 15, 17 and 18 is generally made by coating the metal members with brass or other coating material adherent to rubber and vulcanizing rubber member 13 therebetween under heat and pressure. Although a rubber support is illustrated at each of the four corners, any desired number may be used to provide adequate support for the spring.

An alternative form of support is illustrated in Figure 3 in which bedrail 12a is shown attached to the headboard 10a and the supporting member is formed by astaus means of this arrangement application of a load to member 24 will create both vertical and radial or torsional shear within rubber member 22 thus imparting a high degree of resiliency to articles supported thereby. This is due to the fact that the load on 24 will apply a vertical and torsional shear to the rubber member around the curve defined by extension 23 as a radius.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate another arrangement in which a support of the type referred to is atfixed to bedrail 12b which in turn is illustrated by way of example as secured to the headboard of a bed b in any conventional manner. This supporting member is formed by adhering cylindrical rubber member 26 between concentric metal members and 27. Horizontal projecting member 28 is afiixed to or integral with the central or axial member 27 for supporting the bedspring as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. The type of support described will place rubber member 26 in torsional shear and compression by the application of radial stress applied thereto through member 27. The supporting member is aflixed to the bedrail by screws or the like which pass through flange 29. Similar supports are mounted at each end of the bedrails, and may also be positioned at intermediate points thereof.

Figure 6 illustrates still another form of support in which the rubber member 33 is in the form of a cylindrical sleeve positioned between concentric metal sleeve members 31 and 32, this assembly being welded or otherwise attached to plate which is aflixed to bedrail 12c. The rail is attached to headboard 100 in any conventional manner. The bedspring is supported by horizontal member which is attached to tapered member 34 which is inserted into the inner concentric metal sleeve 32 which is also tapered to conform to shape of pin 34. Supporting members 34 and 35 are therefore readily removable. Application of a load to member 35 will apply a substantial vertical stress to the rubber cushioning member, placing it in shear and providing resilient support.

Applicants copending application, Serial No. 238,619, filed of even date herewith, and entitled Improved Bed Construction (now Patent No. 2,775,775), discloses the application of principles similar to those described herein as applied to resilient supports mounted upon legs or other vertical members supporting bedrails or the like.

While the foregoing description refers to certain specific forms of the invention, it is obvious that the principles hereof may be applied to other constructions, and it is not intended to limit this invention other than through the appended claim.

I claim:

In a bed including end members and a pair of side rails for supporting a spring and mattress; the improvement which consists of providing resilient means attached to each end of said side rails for supporting and cushioning said spring and mattress, said means comprising spaced members and a rubber member bonded thereto and mounted in vertical shear therebetween, one of said spaced members secured to said side rail, and the other member providing a resilient and vibration absorbing support for said spring and mattress, and a horizontal arm fastened to and extending beyond said other member and lying parallel to the plane thereof, said arm having means secured thereto for supporting said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

